Have you ever felt a bit of pressure to beat the clock? Looking at my photos, I found Boulevard Haussmann’s Printemps and Galeries Lafayette Christmas 2022 window, interior and sunset photos waiting for a story. As I write this, it is New Year’s Eve and 2023 is only hours away!! This year Printemps definitely won the window display in the Colleen’s Paris opinion survey with their circus theme. Printemps also kept the wooden steps for the shorter members of society to see and enjoy the window displays. Galeries Lafayette did not keep the steps; maybe because of their theme: Planet Fir Tree (Planète sapin). All the trees were in their display windows.
I visited both department store rooftops for the December afternoon setting sun. On the way to the rooftops, admiring the glass domes (coupoles) was unavoidable. Printemps’s dome hovers over an open space of seasonal clothing on the seventh floor (US)-(sixième [6th] étage- Europe) with a tea salon to the side. Each year, Galeries Lafayette sends a themed Christmas tree shooting toward their dome.
Some Glass Dome Trivia
After a 1921 electrical short-circuit fire, the Printemps dome was rebuilt in the Art Deco style. The Galeries Lafayette dome remains in the Art Nouveau style. In 1939 with the onset of the Second World War, both domes were dismantled to protect any passersby from shattered glass in case of bombing.
The 3,185 glass panes of the Printemps dome were numbered and placed underground in a Clichy-la-Garenne warehouse. The dome was reassembled in 1973 to its original 1921 style. Galeries Lafayette was not so lucky. Although numbered, some Galeries Lafayette panels were lost and replaced by white panels.
Enjoy the windows (or get ready for 2023), the glass domes and rooftop sunsets all year long. Happy New Year 2023! https://youtu.be/M-QzVHH-f9w
